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NFL TV Distribution Maps
by Erik Gunther
Wed, September 19, 2007, 8:00 am PDT

If sports fans don't have something to grouse about, they're not happy. When it comes to the NFL, fans find plenty to complain about. Lawbreaking players, egotistical coaches, and phantom penalties are just a few of the topics ripe for ripping. But one mundane matter sacks the rest when it comes to seething anger. Namely, the capricious choices of the networks as to which game(s) you'll be watching in your local market.

Local network affiliates have bewildered fans for years with their game selections. One man is using the power of the Web to shine a light on their practices. J.P. Kirby is an enterprising engineering student at the University of New Brunswick, and he's been putting together NFL TV Distribution Maps on the Internet since 2005. His maps have attracted a following among pigskin devotees and are a must-check for football fiends each and every week during the season.

We chatted with Mr. Kirby via email and picked his brain about TV, football, and his favorite announcers...

Hey J.P., how did you come up with the concept for the NFL distribution maps?

I've been lurking around various football message boards for quite a few years now and I often saw people whining about how they showed Game X in their hometown over Game Y. I wondered if there was an easy way to find out where each game was going—there wasn't. Curious, about midway through the 2002 season I went to one of those TV listings sites and looked up each station and filled in a crude map. I did that a few more times in 2003, for most of the season in 2004, and turned it into a full website in 2005. Read the full profile...

Filed under: Sports, Football, Television, Yahoo! Picks Profiles

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A Story Behind Every Ring
by Erik Gunther
Fri, February 02, 2007, 3:00 am PST

For the winners of football's highest honor, the bling truly is the thing. Each player and coach from a Super Bowl–winning team receives a ring to commemorate the momentous occasion. While fashions change over the decades, the past forty years of Super Bowls have seen one constant—enormous rings encrusted with a variety of jewels. Of course, all rings aren't created equal. That's why this fascinating feature from ESPN shines like a diamond. Behind the detailed pictures of all 40 rings, you'll find that each sparkly halo has its own tale. Find out that Torry Holt can't fit his ring from seven years ago over his mangled finger, Steve Young doesn't like wearing any of his three prizes, and the legendary Vince Lombardi had a hand in designing the finger pieces for the Super Bowl II winners. Whether you're into bling or just learning about the rings of football history, you'll find stories that sum up what's great about sports.
Visit A Story Behind Every Ring

Filed under: Sports, Football, Fashion

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Stadiums of the NFL
Thu, September 23, 2004, 3:00 am PDT

Oh, the glory of Fenway Park! Oh, the charm of Wrigley! Oh, shut up already. There's been so much written about the "cathedrals" of big league baseball over the years, but nary a word on the stadiums of the rough and tumble NFL. What gives? Fortunately this site rectifies the slight by taking an in-depth look at all the stadiums of the NFL - past, present, and future. Of course there are the things you'd expect -- seating charts, photos, and a history of each stadium. But this site offers a few surprises like the chart comparing each stadium's capacity and cost to build, and a section dedicated to stadiums that used to be (and, well, aren't missed in the slightest).
Visit Stadiums of the NFL

Filed under: Football, Architecture, Stadiums

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Football Outsiders
Fri, November 14, 2003, 3:00 am PST

The revolution in quantitative baseball analysis didn't happen overnight, but with surging interest in the work of Bill James' Baseball Abstract and Michael Lewis' Moneyball, it's reached a state of grudging acceptance. But what about football? The sport that many consider our new national pastime is woefully stats-deficient by comparison. But thanks to this site devoted to dissecting the pigskin, there's great change blowing across the frozen tundra. Not just for fantasy geeks, the site offers opinions, articles, and plenty of discussion about Sunday's grudge matches. If you want to check quarterbacks' rankings by the new DPAR and DVOA, and rate the relative strength of defensive lines by "power success," this is the place. If their work thus far is any proof, these "outsiders" won't be out in the cold forever.
Visit Football Outsiders

Filed under: Sports, Football

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The Helmet Project
Fri, October 11, 2002, 3:00 am PDT

Football helmets were developed for an obvious reason: to protect the brains of football players. While the original flimsy leather caps did little more than keep a player's hair out of his eyes, today's helmets are high-tech brain buckets. But to the average fan, a helmet represents much more -- a team's identity is summed up on a helmet's small canvas. This all-encompassing look at the headwear of pro and college gridiron squads is a touchdown for pigskin fans and design aficionados. Pick a team and browse through the evolution from plain and simple design to the current bold and striking logos. With defunct pro football leagues and college teams all the way down to NAIA and Division III represented, the variety of headwear on display is astonishing. So pull your chinstrap tight and dive head first into this huge pile of gridiron nostalgia.
Visit The Helmet Project

Filed under: Sports, Football, Uniforms

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